SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Stock Gets Price Target Cut from Royal Bank Of Canada

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) had its target price reduced by Royal Bank Of Canada from $29.00 to $28.00 in a report published on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on SLM. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of SLM in a report on Monday, September 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded SLM from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on SLM from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on SLM from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $28.00 target price on SLM in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $29.70.

SLM Stock Performance

Shares of SLM stock opened at $22.52 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 1.32. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $25.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.96. SLM has a 12 month low of $17.77 and a 12 month high of $31.06.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.17). SLM had a net margin of 26.09% and a return on equity of 33.81%. The business had revenue of $401.11 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $409.22 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.32 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. SLM has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.200 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that SLM will post 3.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th were given a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. SLM’s payout ratio is presently 14.53%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SLM

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SLM. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in SLM in the second quarter worth about $455,576,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC bought a new stake in SLM in the second quarter valued at about $169,136,000. Azora Capital LP bought a new stake in SLM in the second quarter valued at about $97,917,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in SLM in the second quarter valued at about $39,251,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in SLM during the second quarter valued at approximately $37,268,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

SLM Company Profile

SLM Corp., operating under the Sallie Mae brand, is a financial services company focused on education financing. It primarily provides private student loans to undergraduate and graduate students, as well as education loans for parents and other creditworthy borrowers. Sallie Mae also offers related products and resources designed to help families plan and pay for college.

The company’s private education loans can be used for eligible expenses such as tuition, fees, books, supplies, and living costs.